The technique of using straps in a reinforced wall structure to stabilise an earth structure is known in the construction industry.
To form an earth retaining wall, multiple concrete blocks are laid upon each other in an adjacent manner. An example block is the Stone Strong block by Stone Strong Systems®. Stone Strong Systems provide a 24 square foot block which is 4 times larger than other available blocks, and can be used to build walls up to about 50 feet in height. A first layer of blocks is laid down, straps are affixed and secured to each respective block and laid back towards and over the earth foundation. Earth is in-filled behind the wall and on top and around the straps. A secondary layer of blocks is laid upon the first layer, a subsequent layer of straps are attached to said blocks of the secondary layer of blocks and laid back towards and over the earth structure. Further earth is in-filled behind the blocks and above each strap layer. Subsequent layers of blocks and straps are added to achieve a required height for the retaining wall. Thus, the completed retaining wall is tied to the earth behind the wall by the straps embedded in the earth being retained by the wall. A known strap product for earth retaining walls is ParaWeb® by Linear Composites.
Aspects of the present invention relate to the way in which a strap is secured to a block. Typically a strap must have its end fitted through a closed loop void within the concrete block. Insertion of the strap can be difficult. In other designs, a void is formed within each concrete block in which a strap may have its end threaded through. This can be cumbersome and time consuming as long lengths of strap must be threaded through the void. Also, the void formers must be very robust to withstand the concrete block pouring and casting process. In some designs, a particularly secure engagement between the pin and the block may be desirable, such that the pin does not move relative to the block so that the transfer of force from the strap to the block is achieved in an efficient and/or effective manner. Further, many void formers may be required and shipping and storing of void formers can require significant container volume.
In this specification, where reference has been made to external sources of information, including patent specifications and other documents, this is generally for the purpose of providing a context for discussing the features of the present invention. Unless stated otherwise, reference to such sources of information is not to be construed, in any jurisdiction, as an admission that such sources of information are prior art or form part of the common general knowledge in the art.
For the purposes of this specification, the term “plastic” shall be construed to mean a general term for a wide range of synthetic or semisynthetic polymerization products, and generally consisting of a hydrocarbon-based polymer.
For the purpose of this specification, where method steps are described in sequence, the sequence does not necessarily mean that the steps are to be chronologically ordered in that sequence, unless there is no other logical manner of interpreting the sequence.